According to Bugatti historian Pierre-Yves Laugier, this Type 57 was the second of seven examples of the famous Atalante, known in its early form—as seen here—simply as a faux cabriolet. It had a fabric roof that opened all the way to the rear of the car, similar to the top of a Citroën 2CV. It was built in June 1935 and registered on June 8, 1935, to Lucien Blanc of Agen, who registered it there as 2049 JV 2. Mr. Blanc was a well-known Bugatti customer who had previously purchased a Type 35. The Type 57 in his possession was later photographed in 1935 by Bugatti enthusiast Jim Byrom at Spanish customs.

About a year after its purchase, Mr. Blanc sold the Type 57 to an unknown owner in Paris, who registered it there on August 7, 1936, as "6273 RK 5." This owner kept the car for two years before selling it in September 1938 to Georges Pilon de Loynes of Nantes, where it was registered as "9941 JH4." Mr. de Loyne, in turn, gave the Bugatti, still in its original color and configuration, to Pierre Douarre, an aircraft pilot then studying at the Versailles flight school. When he left for the Russian front in 1944, it was likely abandoned near Toulon, its original home, and survived the rest of the war there before being put back on the road by a mechanic from the Marseille area in August 1946.